


you strike a match

by togetherwecouldbealright



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Fluff, M/M, Secret Admirer
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-21
Updated: 2015-10-21
Packaged: 2018-04-27 09:37:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5043271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/togetherwecouldbealright/pseuds/togetherwecouldbealright
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i> I can’t remember the other 21 letters of the alphabet. All I know is U R A QT. </i>
</p><p>Louis stares at the note taped to the door of his dorm for a few seconds, uncomprehending. Either he’s seeing things or there’s actually a tiny piece of paper, addressed <i> To: Louis </i> with a terrible pick-up line on it.</p><p>
  <i>OR the one where Louis receives a note from his secret admirer for every letter of the alphabet.</i>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	you strike a match

**Author's Note:**

> Happy birthday Nina, I love you incredible amounts! I hope you enjoy this because I truly whipped this out in one singular day (because I suck). You deserve the world but alas, I can only give you this fic.
> 
> Thanks to Karen and my firks for helping me with the little things, love you all. This is unbeta'd because I procrastinated and left this to the last minute, oops. The title is from '1977' by Years & Years because I'm really whipped for them and their music.
> 
> Sorry I haven't been posting fic recently, I've been applying for college and those applications are literally sent from hell so... sorry again. After November 1st, I'll be a free bird and I promise to be back and at it.
> 
> Until then... enjoy this!

_I can’t remember the other 21 letters of the alphabet. All I know is U R A QT_.

Louis stares at the note taped to the door of his dorm for a few seconds, uncomprehending. Either he’s seeing things or there’s actually a tiny piece of paper, addressed _To: Louis_ with a terrible pick-up line on it.

“Niall!” Louis shouts, using his keycard to unlock the door with one hand and pulling the note off the door with the other. “Did you put this here?”

“Put what?” Niall asks, glancing up from their flat screen to look at Louis.

Louis holds out the paper in answer and Niall takes it from him, setting his PlayStation controller onto the floor. In the time it takes for him to read it, Niall bursts into loud obnoxious laughter that makes Louis narrow his eyes. “What?” he asks defensively, crossing his arms. “Did you do this?”

“It wasn’t me,” is what Niall cackles in reply, shaking his head. “Seems like you’ve got a secret admirer, Lou.”

“A secret admirer,” Louis repeats dryly, raising an eyebrow. “Why the fuck would I have a secret admirer?”

Niall looks him up and down suggestively before cackling again and Louis swats him on the arm, rolling his eyes before snatching his controller. “I hate you,” he grumbles, “And it must’ve just been someone pulling a joke. It’s whatever.”

“Alright, Lou,” Niall teases before his expression turns serious. “Now give me the controller back.”

***

_A – Apricot._

“What the fuck is this?” Louis mutters to himself, reaching up to pull the note off. Again, it says _To: Louis_ and on the front it says _A – Apricot_.

Louis blinks at it before flipping it over to see small cursive writing on the back. _One day I’d like to meet your mouth – I hope it tastes like apricots._

It takes a moment for Louis to register the words and then his eyes widen in disbelief, lips parting. He has to flip it over multiple times to make sure he isn’t hallucinating before shaking his head, slipping the paper into his pocket before dashing into his room to grab his bag and laptop before running back out. He’s late to his photojournalism class and he can’t afford to think about some random person leaving strange alphabetized notes on his door.

Louis drops into a seat in the back with just a minute to spare, breathing heavy and brushing his fringe out of his eyes.

“Are you alright?” someone asks from beside him.

Louis turns to the left, ready to snap before his entire mind goes blank and he just kind of stares. There’s a boy sitting beside him with a kind, dimpled smile and green eyes lit up brighter than the sun. His dark brown curls fall loosely around his shoulders and he’s wrapped up in a patterned sweater. Louis is a little breathless.

“Uh. I’m fine,” Louis says, blinking a few times for good measure before looking down at his desk and reminding himself not to act stupid.

“I’m glad,” the boy says, still smiling and Louis bites his tongue, feeling entirely too fond of someone he doesn’t know. It’s been a while since a nice, pretty boy has smiled at him like that.

For the rest of the class, they don’t say anything to each other but at the end of the class, Louis drops his pencil and the boy picks it up with a teasing twinkle in his eye before sliding past him and out of the lecture hall.

Louis pretends he doesn’t stare after him.

***

 _B – Bears_.

“I think you’re bear-y cute,” Louis reads out loud to Liam, shaking his head in disbelief. “Is this real?”

Liam looks just as mystified as him, peering over his shoulder with raised eyebrows. “When did you get a secret admirer?”

“I have no clue,” Louis admits, folding the paper neatly and tucking it in his pocket. The first two notes are hidden away in one of his desk drawers and he’s not quite sure why he’s kept them. “It’s weird.”

“Are you blushing?” Liam asks a moment later and Louis’ head snaps towards him, feeling his cheeks burn.

“No,” he hisses, “sod off.”

Liam’s expression turns into this knowing one that Louis hates and Louis makes a move to kick him when he notices something by his feet.

There’s a small rainbow colored bear, dressed in bondage staring up at him. _Bear_. “Oh my God,” he exhales, holding a hand to his head dubiously.

Liam looks down at his words and lets out a shocked burst of laughter. “Oh, they’re bringing you gifts now too? Are you going to name it?”

In his head, Louis thinks it doesn’t deserve a name and then almost feels bad. Then he feels stupid for almost feeling bad. It’s just a bear. A rainbow bondage bear.

“I want you to die a slow, painful death,” is what he says in reply to Liam and his fingers itch to reach out and take the bear before he decides better of it. He’s not going to give this stranger the satisfaction.

“You’re a bit psychotic, you know that?” Liam mutters exasperatedly and Louis flips him the bird before pushing open the door to his dorm room and leaving Liam outside to knock on the door incredulously.

***

_C – Chivalry._

_A lot of people say chivalry is dead but if they met you, they would hold doors open for the rest of their lives_.

Louis isn’t quite sure whether he should be flattered or freaked out by the bouquet of fake roses that rainbow bondage bear is holding. He didn’t even know that bouquets came that small–he wonders how long it took his secret admirer to find it.

He’s still staring when someone bumps into him and his automatic reaction is to grab onto the nearest solid object and in this case, it happens to be the stranger’s arm.

“Oops,” the stranger says and Louis immediately lets go, eyes flicking up to meet familiar green lily-pads and cherry colored lips that are quirked with mirth.

“Hi,” Louis says in reply, wincing internally. “Sorry about that. I was just...” he trails off, looking down at the bear and the note in his free hand. “Nothing. Sorry again.”

“It’s fine,” the boy assures and Louis watches as he runs his hands through his rather lovely brown curls. “Louis, right?”

Louis stares at him blankly for a moment, trying to memorize the way his name sounds falling from the boy’s lips before his brain works again. He’s a bit appalled at himself. Given it’s been a year since his last relationship but still, he knows how to pick up a guy and he’s pretty sure that staring silently definitely is not a good flirting technique.

Smiling brightly, Louis nods, tucking the card into his back pocket. “Yeah, that’s me. What’s your name?”

When the boy finally speaks, his voice sounds like dripping molasses. “Harry,” he murmurs, he nods towards the hallway, “I’ll see you around, yeah?”

Before Louis can answer, the boy smirks, tilting his head silently, eyes trailing over Louis in a way that makes Louis want to push him against the nearest surface and make out with him until their mouths are raw. Maybe staring silently _is_ a good flirting technique.

“Yeah,” Louis agrees, leaning against his door and cocking his hip before lowering his eyes and smiling coquettishly. Two can play at that game.

Harry’s lips turn up into a full, dimpled smile as he nods before continuing his trek down the hallway.

Once he’s gone, Louis slips inside his room and sinks against the door, shaking his head. Next time, he’s not going to let Harry slip away that easily.

***

_D – Dare._

_Think on your feet… I dare you to smile. :)_

Rainbow bondage bear is dressed up as Daredevil and Louis finds himself chuckling almost fondly.

Louis bends down to set the bear upright before plucking the note off his door and twirling it between his fingers as he enters the room.

Yesterday, he’d given more thought to what having a secret admirer entitled—he came to the conclusion that it’s indefinitely strange but also nice in a weird way. Someone has decided to take the time out of their day to dress up a random bear and leave alphabetized pick up lines just for Louis. It’s not the worst thing that could happen to a person.

Louis stops in his tracks when he sees a familiar tall, lean boy lounging on his bed beside Niall who’s rapidly shoving popcorn in his mouth with one hand and playing intently on a Wii controller with the other. It’s possible that their dorm has too many gaming consoles.

Harry looks up at the sound of the door opening and when Louis meets his eyes, his face lights up like a shooting star. “Louis,” the boy breathes, blinking languidly as his lips pull up to form a soft smile.

“Harry,” Louis greets back, licking his lips out of nervous habit before smiling back. “You know Niall?”

He watches as Harry opens his mouth to reply but is cut off rather rudely by Niall, who talks through a mouth full of food as he says, “Who doesn’t know me?”

Louis purses his lips, considering what to say before he narrows his eyes at his best friend. “Why exactly are you on my bed?”

“Because I don’t want a popcorn crumb trail on my sheets,” Niall says as though it’s the most obvious thing in the world. Perhaps it is.

Louis’ mouth falls open in dismay and before he can start shouting at Niall, Harry giggles. Almost immediately, Louis' mouth snaps shut.

He gives Niall a dark look, hopefully conveying what this isn’t going to be forgotten before shifting his gaze to Harry whose dimples are pressing deep into his cheeks in barely concealed delight.

Instantly, Louis’ glare softens into something ridiculously fond and he has to look away before Harry can realize just exactly how endeared Louis has become in such a short time.

Louis moves to put away the secret admirer’s note in his desk, feeling Harry’s eyes on him the entire time and reminding himself to act normal. He picks up his laptop and walks over to Niall’s bed, settling in and pointedly not watching Harry.

(He peaks a few times.) (Harry is looking back every time.)

(He also smiles uselessly at his laptop a lot. He’s never been able to refuse a dare.)

***

 _E_ _– Eggs._

Louis considers the note for a moment, wondering what kind of pick up line could include eggs. Out of both curiosity and anticipation, Louis flips it over and sees _I would like to make you eggs on toast every day if that’s quite alright_.

At his feet, rainbow bondage bear is dressed in a flowery apron. Louis can’t help the burst of enamored giggles that slip past his lips.

Someone wants to cook him breakfast every day – what world is he living in?

He’s about to unlock the door to his room when he sees another note. It has two words written on it that has Louis laughing so hard that the bloke who lives in the dorm beside him, Zayn, sticks his head out in bemusement.

Louis waves him off, snagging the second note as he heads into his room.

_I’m serious. >:(_

***

_F – Falling._

_Do you have a plaster? I hurt my knee falling for you._

Louis snorts, tugging at the note which is stuck to the wall with Spiderman themed plasters instead of the normal tape that the secret admirer usually uses. Rainbow bondage bear is dressed as very cute nurse and Louis absently pats the stuffed animal on the head before entering his room.

He finds Harry lounging in his bed again, scribbling into a journal with a contemplative look on his face.

“Working hard?” Louis speaks up, quirking an eyebrow.

Harry looks up and shrugs, an easy smile on his face. “Work hard, play hard, be kind. That’s the way to live.”

“I’ll take that into consideration,” Louis teases, setting the note on his desk before nodding towards the journal. “Are you in journalism as well?”

“What?” Harry asks, glancing down at his journal before his cheeks flush a pretty pink color and he shakes his head. “No, I just like to write every now and then. I’m a photography major.”

Louis hums in appreciation before glancing around and cocking his head at Harry in confusion. “Are you waiting for Niall?”

Harry nods in agreement, “Niall went to go get snacks an hour ago,” followed by him rolling his eyes.

If Louis didn’t already like Harry, he does now.

He titters sympathetically and in the back of his mind, he knows he has a class to go to but he’d much rather stand here and spend the rest of the day watching Harry bite his rose colored lips and brush his hands through his tangled curls.

Louis almost says as much.

Before he can, Harry falters from where he’s leaning an elbow on Louis’ pillow and his eyes widen. “This is your bed, right? Sorry,” he apologizes, immediately moving to get up and Louis shakes his head.

“It’s fine,” he reassures, laughing quietly. “I don’t mind. I was just taking the piss out of Niall the other day. My bed is to your leisure.”

In his head Louis wonders if that comes off as suggestive as he intended it to. He hopes so. If the way Harry is flushing darker is any indication, then it did.

“Thank you, Louis,” Harry says, sounds a little flustered and Louis grins wolfishly, eyes crinkling at the corners.

“Any time,” he replies, biting his lip in attempt to contain how wide his smile is getting to no avail. He really needs to stop before he gets in too deep. “I’ve got a class to get to, but help yourself.”

***

_G – Guitar._

_Recently, I started learning to play the guitar because someone like you deserves to have songs written about them._

Louis smiles fondly at the note, wondering briefly if it’s true before glancing down at rainbow bondage bear, who is dutifully holding a tiny banjo. It’s far too endearing.

It’s no one but the secret admirer’s fault that Louis now has a picture of a rainbow bear holding a guitar saved to an album on his phone called _rbb & secret admirer_. He wonders what his life has come to that someone is communicating with him via rainbow bear.

When Louis arrives to his photojournalism class this time, he isn’t late and Harry is saving the seat next to him with a hopeful smile that Louis can’t deny.

“Saving seats for me, are we now? A bit presumptuous, don’t you think?” Louis teases and Harry scoffs, shaking his head but the way his eyes light up cancels out his exasperation easily.

“I might just be trying to steal your notes,” Harry retorts easily and for a second, Louis nearly balks before he realizes Harry is talking about their class notes. Right. That makes sense.

Louis shakes his head a little to clear his thoughts before grinning at Harry. “Sorry, you’ll have to take your own notes. I don’t give out my goods for nothing in return.”

“Who said you’d receive nothing in return?” Harry wonders, tilting his head and smiling his stupid smirk again—the one that makes Louis’ stomach feel funny and his heart beat a little too fast.

Louis covers it up though, one corner of his mouth turning up. “Who said I want what you’re willing to give?”

“Guess we’ll have to make a trade and find out,” Harry mumbles, licking his lips suggestively and Louis shrugs, laughing a little at the huffy, indignant expression on the other boy’s face.

***

 _H – Hi_.

Louis flips the note up, reading on the back of it without taking note off the door.

 _Hi. I hope you have a nice day_.

Before Louis can glance down at the bear, someone behind him says, “Hi,” and he nearly jumps out of his skin.

He whirls around, eyes wide in a mixture of nervousness and excitement only to find Harry standing there smiling at him. The nervousness tampers down a little but the excitement only increases, a smile gracing his own lips. “Hi,” he replies. “Looking for Niall?”

Harry shakes his head. “Looking for you, actually.”

“Me?” Louis repeats, raising his eyebrows. “Why me?”

“Because,” Harry starts and his eyes dart behind Louis, to the door where the note is still there. Louis feels oddly self-conscious of it, moving slightly to block Harry’s view. The younger boy glances back down, eyes meeting Louis’ as he continues, “I want to take you out to coffee.”

The words take a moment to register and Louis blinks in confusion. “Like on a date?” he asks before he can think it through.

Harry doesn’t look displeased with the question—on the contrary, he looks thrilled. “If you’d like,” he replies, biting his bottom lip hopefully.

Louis opens his mouth to answer but he can’t seem to find the right words so in the end, he just nods mutely in agreement. Harry looks even more enthusiastic at that. “Shall we?”

Again, Louis nods and Harry grins, reaching out to intertwine their fingers before leading Louis down the hallway, all thoughts of his secret admirer disappearing.

***

 _I – Igloo_.

_Sometimes I want to build an igloo and live in it. I like to think you’d be by my side, throwing snowballs at me._

Rainbow bondage bear is dressed in winter gear.

Louis is hopelessly endeared.

Beside him, Niall is giving him a strange look but it’s fine. Louis doesn’t really care all that much. He has a secret admirer that wants to live in an igloo with him as well as an actual lovely boy who wants to take him on multiple dates. It’s safe to say his life is pretty great.

“This entire situation is so weird,” Niall mutters under his breath and Louis flicks him on the arm before letting the both of them inside the dorm.

Louis has to admit though, it isn’t the most normal situation. He wonders whether his secret admirer will ever try to actually contact him, instead of through quirky little notes on his door.

It’s a little scary to think about, mainly because Louis doesn’t know if he’s ready to meet them. He likes the anonymity in a way—it’s easy and unrestricting. It doesn’t mean anything. This way, he can hold Harry’s hand without feeling guilty of the repercussions.

Louis convinces himself it’s better this way.

***

_J – Jelly._

_You could be the peanut butter to my jelly… you could be the butterflies I feel in my belly._

Louis shakes his head with amusement at the lyrics before reaching down to tweak one of rainbow bondage bear’s wings. He has no idea how his secret admirer managed to find fairy wings that small but he has a feeling that they might have some sort of subscription to build-a-bear workshop.

It’s probably bad that Louis takes out his phone and texts Harry asking if he wants to get PBJ sandwiches from the deli down the block from their uni. He can’t find it in himself to care because Harry texts back saying _Meet you there .x_

***

_K – King._

_I’d like to rule the world with you. You’re fit to be a king._

“Are you going to do anything about this?” Liam asks, startling Louis out of his focused stare on rainbow bondage bear, dressed up in entire royal outfit, topped off with a crown.

“About what?” he asks distractedly, sliding his keycard through the slot before opening the door to his room. Niall is already inside, munching on a bag of chips and watching something on Netflix that Louis suspects is a Disney film.

“About your secret admirer,” Liam answers, eyebrows knitting together. Louis frowns at him because he’s never quite enjoyed being on the receiving end of that look.

“What am I supposed to do?” Louis wonders, setting his bag down on his bed before opening the first drawer of his desk and placing the note in there.

When he turns back to Liam, the younger boy’s eyes are practically bulging out of his in disbelief. Louis gives him a bemused look, unsure as to what he did to cause Liam having a heart attack.

“Are you alright?” he checks.

“You save all those notes?” Liam asks incredulously, reaching to open the drawer and Louis bats his hand away before he can. “Don’t you have a boyfriend now?”

Louis moves defensively in front of his drawer, covering it with his body before shaking his head at Liam. “First of all, that’s none of your business,” he snaps, jutting his bottom lip out, “and second of all, dating someone doesn’t make them my boyfriend. Can you stop staring at me like that?” he asks, referring to the judgmental expression on Liam’s face.

Liam gives him a skeptical look before he mutters, “This can only end badly,” and going to join Niall on the floor.

The words make Louis’ skin feel prickly and he glares daggers at the back of Liam’s head before leaving the room, pointedly slamming the door behind him.

Zayn is coming out of his room at the same time and he gives Louis a weird look before heading in the opposite direction and Louis frowns miserably at him until he disappears around the corner.

That’s how Harry finds him a few hours later, sitting beside rainbow bondage bear, having stolen the crown for himself. It doesn’t exactly fit properly but Louis doesn’t care, satisfied enough to send people snapchats with the outfit accessory on his head.

Harry sits down beside him after a moment of hesitancy, he takes the crown off Louis’ head and places it on his own head. Louis glances over at him and nods approvingly. “Prince Harry,” he mutters before snapping a quick photo and adding it to his story.

“I thought I was the photography major,” Harry says in a teasing tone, a small smile teasing his lips.

“You are, I’m just appreciating art,” Louis informs, grinning and Harry blushes, ducking his head slightly. “Come on, let’s go grab dinner.”

Harry nods in agreement, getting to his feet. He offers his hand out for Louis to take which he does without a second thought, pulling himself up.

Louis watches as Harry takes the crown off his head and sets it down on rainbow bondage bear before holding his hand out again. Louis intertwines their fingers much like how Harry tends to and the younger boy is absolutely bright pink now.

It’s a good look on him.

***

 _L – Love_.

Louis is scared to turn the note over. On the ground, there’s a single rose and rainbow bondage bear is nowhere to be seen.

It takes an entire minute to readying himself mentally before he can actually flip the note over and even then, his hands are shaking slightly.

_Is it too soon to be falling in love with you?_

Louis inhales sharply, eyes tracing over the words over and over again and they’re real no matter how many times he looks at them.

He has to remind himself to exhale and loosen his hold on the note, in case he accidentally crumples it.

After a moment, Louis reaches down to pick up the rose and he leans forward, pressing his nose to it. It smells incredibly sweet and Louis doesn’t know what to think.

Eventually, the only thing he manages to do is put the rose in a mug filled with water and tuck the note safely away in his desk. His heart races the entire night long.

***

 _M – Marry_.

_If I could choose anyone anyone in the world to marry, I’d marry you, Louis._

“I love cross-dressing bears. They’re the best type of bears,” Harry says later when he’s knocking on the door to Louis’ dorm. Louis glances briefly down at where rainbow bondage bear is back and wearing a wedding gown before nodding.

“Drag queens might be better,” he says offhandedly before opening the door wider to let Harry in. “What are our plans for tonight?”

“We’re going to Netflix and chill,” Harry answers and he says it so confidently that Louis laughs in amusement.

“Oh really? What does Netflix and chill entitle?” he wonders, shutting the door with his foot as he walks back over to his bed. Niall is out as he always is now that Louis tends to invite Harry over every other night.

“Cuddling and binge watching _Breaking Bad_ , obviously,” Harry replies, crawling into the bed beside Louis and stealing his laptop without blinking.

Louis shakes his head affectionately, letting Harry do as he pleases. “A moment ago, I thought you were my soulmate and now I think you’re a kleptomaniac.”

“I’ll gladly be both,” Harry replies joyfully, setting the laptop down between them just as the Netflix page loads. “I heard marrying kleptos is a good life decision.”

Louis sighs fondly and presses play. He tries not to think too hard on Harry’s word choice. _Marry_.

***

The following few days are filled with ridiculously cheesy notes, Harry’s giggles and Louis’ inevitable internal meltdown.

_N – Night._

_All the stars in the night sky don’t begin to compare to how bright you shine._

_O – One._

_I think you’re the one for me._

_P – Palette._

_Not even a palette full of paint could do your features justice._

_Q – Quiver._

_The thought of you makes my lips quiver and my hands shake._

_R – Race._

_You make my heart race._

_S – Summer._

_The summertime, and butterflies, all belong to your creation._

Louis carefully pulls the latest note off his door.

_T – Taste._

_Having just a taste of you would never be enough – I want all of you, always._

Rainbow bondage bear is holding an apricot flavored lollipop which Louis reaches down to take and he reflects back on the second note he ever got from his secret admirer. It feels like it’s been a million years since then.

Later, when he’s pinning Harry against the side of his bed, laughing against the column of his throat and pressing kisses into his mouth, he feels distinctly guilty because his mouth must taste like apricots.

When Harry leaves for the night, eyes sparkling and lips several shades darker, Louis lies in his bed and wonders if maybe he should tell Harry about his secret admirer. Technically, Louis hasn’t done anything wrong aside from kept the notes but something just feels _wrong_.

He can’t deny that he’s grown fond of the notes and looks forward to them every day but he doesn’t know if that’s worth risking his and Harry’s relationship—or whatever it is that they have.

It’s been a long time since a simple smile on someone’s face has made Louis this incredibly happy but Harry does that for him. Louis doesn’t think he wants to lose that.

Louis spends a better part of night mulling over what to do and he wakes out of the light sleep he’d fallen into when there’s noise outside his and Niall’s room.

He turns to the side, turning to see if Niall is in bed and he is, fast asleep with a blanket covering only half his body.

Louis climbs out of bed reluctantly and pulls Niall’s blanket up higher, covering his shoulders before tiptoeing over to the door and opening it.

There’s no one in the hall when he looks but there’s a new note on his door and rainbow bondage bear is dressed up a shirt with all the planets on it.

Without bothering to read what it says, Louis snatches the note and leaves it on his desk before climbing back into bed and falling fast asleep.

***

 _U – Universe_.

_In every universe, there’s always me and there’s always you and sometimes there’s us. I hope this is one of those universes._

***

_V – Versatile._

_I like the word versatile and I like you. That’s all._

“I have a secret admirer,” Louis blurts to Harry when they’re sitting in their photojournalism class. Harry turns to him in confusion, eyebrows raised. “For the last three weeks or so, they’ve been leaving notes on my door.”

“Notes?” Harry repeats in a whisper, tilting his head.

Louis nods, biting his lip, hoping he isn’t somehow messing things up before they’ve even started. “Like… little love letters. I don’t know. They also dress up that bear that’s in front of my dorm sometimes.”

Harry stares at him silently for a moment before nodding once and reaching out to take Louis’ hand. “Thanks for telling me.”

Louis blinks, staring down at their hands before looking back up at Harry. “You’re not mad?”

“Of course not,” Harry replies, eyebrows furrowed. “Why would I be?”

Louis balks for a second, unsure what to say before he shrugs, rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand. “Because.. I, uh. I figured we’re exclusive?”

“Yeah, and?” Harry wonders, looking even more confused. “Of course, we’re exclusive.”

“I—okay,” Louis says finally because he has no idea what exactly is going on. “Uh. Nice talk.”

Harry’s lips quirk up just the tiniest bit as he nods and that alone is enough to settle Louis’ nerves, making it easier for him to squeeze Harry’s hands and pay attention to the class again.

***

_W – Wikipedia._

_You deserve your own Wikipedia page._

_X – X-Ray._

_If someone were to take an x-ray of my body, they’d find your name carved into every bone._

_Y – Yearn._

_My heart yearns to call you mine._

***

Louis is walking down the hall to his room to pick up some textbooks to take to the library when he notices Harry standing in front of the door, waiting for him.

“Hey, love,” he greets when he’s close enough. Rainbow bondage bear is wearing a different outfit than last time but Louis ignores it in favor of leaning up to kiss Harry.

“Hi,” Harry murmurs and he’s smiling in a way that’s unfamiliar. Something in Louis’ veins set alight. “I have something for you.”

“Oh?” Louis quirks an eyebrow. “What is it?”

Harry nods and holds his hand out to reveal a small piece of paper. It says _To: Louis_ and _Z – Zigzag_.

Louis stares at Harry’s for a few beats of silence before meeting the younger boy’s eyes. They’re full of mischief and mirth and Louis is speechless.

“Take it,” Harry urges softly.

It takes a moment but Louis eventually reaches out and takes the note in his hand before flipping it over.

_I used to think I knew my path but then I met you and everything zigzagged. I don’t mind because I found my home along the way._

“Harry,” Louis breathes out quietly. “I don’t know what to say.”

“Don’t say anything,” Harry advises and his voice is a gentle murmur. “Just kiss me again.”

So Louis does.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos are always appreciated! Come [yell at me on tumblr](http://lourrynavy.tumblr.com) or [yell at me on twitter](http://twitter.com/deepestIove). Whichever you'd like.


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